Eagles fear of tampering makes them look silly

Leave it to Andy Reid and the Eagles to turn a routine search for a defensive coordinator into a melodrama.

Truth be told, Reid's next coordinator works for the Green Bay Packers or the Pittsburgh Steelers, who in nine days play in Super Bowl XLV. But the Eagles are so afraid of a tampering conviction - technically they're not allowed to speak with any of those coaches until after the Super Bowl - they look like they don't know what they're doing. The reality is their smugness is steering them clear of penalties including fines and loss of draft picks.

Rather than throw darts the way several over-caffeinated webbers are doing these days, let's just assume the Eagles would be fortunate to have almost any of the defensive coaches on the staffs of those Super Bowl squads. They are two of the top four defenses in the NFL, the Chicago Bears and the Baltimore Ravens the others.

My personal favorites are Packers linebackers coach Kevin Greene, who knows a lot about rushing the passer, and secondary coach Darren Perry, also with the Pack. They've gotten a lot out of their players, including Clay Matthews, who Greene has turned into one of the top defenders in football.

The Steelers also have fine coaches. Though both teams play the 3-4 defense, the Eagles played almost as much 3-4 as 4-3.

The ESPN repor stating former Tennessee Titans head coach Jeff Fisher would join the Eagles as defensive coordinator seems a bit over the top. Terms of the settlement between Fisher, who had a year left on his contract, and the Titans still aren't known.

But if I was Andy Reid, I'd keep the snowblower and be sure to remind my good buddy, Mike Holmgren, the weather in Cleveland really isn't much less livable as it's been lately in Philadelphia.